Eknath Shinde’s rebellion – which erupted on the night of June 20 — had whittled down the numbers of the Uddhav Thackeray faction.
Mumbai: After two weeks of intense political crisis, Maharashtra’s four-day-old Eknath Shinde government, which was aided by the BJP, will need to demonstrate its majority in the assembly today. But it’s anticipated that the exam will be a formality.
A day after Rahul Narwekar of the BJP was elected Speaker, a key move in light of the Shiv Sena’s impending appeal to disqualify 16 rebel MLAs, including the new Chief Minister, the test of strength will be held.
Last night, Mr. Narwekar recognized the appointment of Bharat Gogawale as the Shiv Sena’s top whip and reinstated Mr. Shinde as the party’s parliamentary leader.
The Supreme Court is now hearing a case from the Uddhav Thackeray group that asks for the disqualification of 16 MLAs from the Shinde camp. However, even if 16 MLAs are disqualified, the next administration will still have the upper hand in terms of numbers.
Currently, the BJP has 106 MLAs, and Mr. Shinde asserts that he has 50 supporters, including 39 Sena rebels. The majority mark will drop to 137 if 16 MLAs are disqualified, but the government will still have a comfortable 140 overall members.
With 164 votes, the Speaker was elected yesterday. Rajan Salvi, the opposition candidate, received only 107 votes.
With new faces entering the rebel camp every day, Eknath Shinde’s insurrection, which broke out on the evening of June 20, had reduced the size of the Uddhav Thackeray side.
After the Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Thackeray must demonstrate a majority on the floor of the house in order to carry out the Governor’s orders, he resigned from the top position on Wednesday.
A day later, Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP shocked everyone by announcing Mr. Shinde as the new chief minister.
Following pressure from the BJP brass, Mr. Fadnavis, a former chief minister of Maharashtra, agreed to serve as Mr. Shinde’s deputy later in the evening.
The followers of Eknath Shinde arrived in Mumbai on Saturday night. The rebels have spent the last two weeks in BJP-run states, first in Surat, Gujarat, then in Guwahati, Assam, and lastly in Goa.
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